Howard Dean: 'The Future of the Democratic Party'

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Published on Wednesday, December 8, 2004 by CommonDreams.org


The Future of the Democratic Party

by Howard Dean
Remarks made by Governor Howard Dean on the Future of the Democratic Party.
Given at The George Washington University on December 8, 2004

Thank you for that introduction. It's a pleasure to be here.

Let me tell you what my plan for this Party is:

We're going to win in Mississippi
...and Alabama
...and Idaho
...and South Carolina.

Four years ago, the President won 49 percent of the vote. The Republican Party treated it like it was a mandate, and we let them get away with it.

Fifty one percent is not a mandate either. And this time we're not going to let them get away with it.

Our challenge today is not to re-hash what has happened, but to look forward, to make the Democratic Party a 50-state party again, and, most importantly, to win.

To win the White House and a majority in Congress, yes. But also to do the real work that will make these victories possible -- to put Democratic ideas and Democratic candidates in every office -- whether it be Secretary of State, supervisor of elections, county commissioner or school board member.

Here in Washington, it seems that after every losing election, there's a consensus reached among decision-makers in the Democratic Party is that the way to win is to be more like Republicans.

I suppose you could call that philosophy: if you didn't beat 'em, join them.

I'm not one for making predictions -- but if we accept that philosophy this time around, another Democrat will be standing here in four years giving this same speech. we cannot win by being "Republican-lite." We've tried it; it doesn't work.

The question is not whether we move left or right. It's not about our direction. What we need to start focusing on... is the destination.

There are some practical elements to the destination.

The destination of the Democratic Party requires that it be financially viable, able to raise money not only from big donors but small contributors, not only through dinners and telephone solicitations and direct mail, but also through the Internet and person-to-person outreach.

The destination of the Democratic Party means making it a party that can communicate with its supporters and with all Americans. Politics is at its best when we create and inspire a sense of community. The tools that were pioneered in my campaign -- like blogs, and meetups, and streaming video -- are just a start. We must use all of the power and potential of technology as part of an aggressive outreach to meet and include voters, to work with the state parties, and to influence media coverage.

The most practical destination is winning elective office. And we must do that at every level of government. The way we will rebuild the Democratic Party is not from consultants down, but from the ground up.

We have some successes to build on. We raised more money than the RNC, and we did so by attracting thousands of new small donors. This is the first time in my memory that the DNC is not coming out of a national campaign in debt. We trained tens of thousands of new activists. We put together the most sophisticated get-out-the-vote operation our Party has ever had. We registered millions of new voters, including a record number of minority and young voters. And we saw those new voters overwhelmingly vote Democrat.

Now we need to build on our successes while transforming the Democratic Party into a grassroots organization that can win in 50 states.

I have seen all the doomsday predictions that the Democratic Party could shrink to become a regional Party. A Party of the Northeast and the Pacific Northwest.

We cannot be a Party that seeks the presidency by running an 18-state campaign. We cannot be a party that cedes a single state, a single District, a single precinct, nor should we cede a single voter.

As many of the candidates supported by my organization Democracy for America showed -- people in places that we've too long ignored are hungry for an alternative; they're hungry for new ideas and new candidates, and they're willing to elect Democrats.

Since we started Dean for America last March, we raised over $5 million, mostly from small donors. That money was given to 748 candidates in 46 states and at every level of government.

We helped a Democratic governor get elected in Montana and a Democratic mayor get elected in Salt Lake County, Utah.

We helped Lori Saldana in San Diego. Lori, a Latina grassroots environmental organizer was outspent in both the primary and the general, won a seat on the state assembly.

We also helped Anita Kelly become the first African-American woman elected to her circuit court in Montgomery Alabama.

Fifteen of the candidates who we helped win last month never ran for elective office before.

And in Texas, a little known candidate who had been written off completely ran the first competitive race against Tom Delay in over a decade.

There are no red states or blue states, just American states. And if we can compete at all levels and in the most conservative parts of the country, we can win ... at any level and anywhere.

People will vote for Democratic candidates in Texas, and Alabama, and Utah if we knock on their door, introduce ourselves, and tell them what we believe.

There is another destination beyond strong finances, outreach, and campaigns.

That destination is a better, stronger, smarter, safer, healthier America.

An America where we don't turn our back on our own people.

That's the America we can only build with conviction.

When some people say we should change direction, in essence they are arguing that our basic or guiding principles can be altered or modified.

They can't.

On issue after issue, we are where the majority of the American people are.

What I want to know is at what point did it become a radical notion to stand up for what we believe?

Over fifty years ago, Harry Truman said, "We are not going to get anywhere by trimming or appeasing. And we don't need to try it."

Yet here we are still making the same mistakes.

Let me tell you something: there's only one thing Republican power brokers want more than for us to lurch to the left -- and that's for us to lurch to the right.

What they fear most is that we may really begin fighting for what we believe -- the fiscally responsible, socially progressive values for which Democrats have always stood and fought.

I'll give this to Republicans. They know the America they want. They want a government so small that, in the words of one prominent Republican, it can be drowned in a bathtub.

They want a government that runs big deficits, but is small enough to fit into your bedroom.

They want a government that is of, by, and for their special interest friends.

They want a government that preaches compassion but practices division.

They want wealth rewarded over work.

And they are willing to use any means to get there.

In going from record surpluses to record deficits, the Republican Party has relinquished the mantle of fiscal responsibility.

And now they're talking about borrowing another $2 trillion to take benefits away from our Senior Citizens.

In going from record job creation to record job loss, they have abandoned the mantle of economic responsibility.

In cutting health care, education, and community policing programs... and in failing to invest in America's inner cities, or distressed rural communities... they certainly have no desire to even claim the mantle of social responsibility.

In their refusal to embrace real electoral reform or conduct the business in government in the light of day, they are hardly the model of civic responsibility.

In their willingness to change the rules so that their indicted leaders can stay in power, they have even given up any claim on personal responsibility.

And in starting an international conflict based on misleading information, I believe they have abdicated America's moral responsibility, as well.

There is a Party of fiscal responsibility... economic responsibility.... social responsibility... civic responsibility... personal responsibility... and moral responsibility.

It's the Democratic Party.

We need to be able to say strongly, firmly, and proudly what we believe.

Because we are what we believe.

And we believe every person in America should have access to affordable health care. It is wrong that we remain the only industrialized nation in the world that does not assure health care for all of its citizens.

We believe the path to a better future goes directly through our public schools. I have nothing against private schools, parochial schools and home schooling. Parents with the means and inclination should choose whatever they believe is best for their children. But those choices must never come at the expense of what has been -- and must always be -- the great equalizer in our society -- public education.

We believe that if you put in a lifetime of work, you have earned a retirement of dignity -- not one that is put at risk by your government or unethical business practices.

The first time our nation balanced its budget, it was Andrew Jackson, father of the Democratic Party, who did it. The last time our nation balanced its budget, it was Bill Clinton who did it. I did it every year as Governor. Democrats believe in fiscal responsibility and we're the only ones who have delivered it.

We believe that every single American has a voice and that it should be heard in the halls of power everyday. And it most certainly must be heard on Election Day. Democracies around the world look to us as a model. How can we be worthy of their aspirations when we have done enough to guarantee accurate elections for our own citizens.

We believe in a strong and secure America... And we believe we will be stronger by having a moral foreign policy.

We need to embrace real political reform -- because only real reform will pry government from the grasp of the special interests who have made a mockery of reform and progress for far too long.

The pundits have said that this election was decided on the issue of moral values. I don't believe that. It is a moral value to provide health care. It is a moral value to educate our young people. The sense of community that comes from full participation in our Democracy is a moral value. Honesty is a moral value.

If this election had been decided on moral values, Democrats would have won.

It is time for the Democratic Party to start framing the debate.

We have to learn to punch our way off the ropes.

We have to set the agenda.

We should not hesitate to call for reform -- reform in elections, reform in health care and education, reforms that promote ethical business practices. And, yes, we need to talk about some internal reform in the Democratic Party as well, and I'll be discussing that more specifically in the days ahead.

Reform is the hallmark of a strong Democratic Party.

Those who stand in the way of reform cannot be the focus of our attention for only four months out of every four years.

Reform is a daily battle.

And we must pursue those reforms with conviction -- every day, at all levels, in 50 states.

A little while back, at a fundraiser, a woman came up to me. She identified herself as an evangelical Christian from Texas. I asked her what you are all wondering -- why was she supporting me. She said there were two reasons. The first was that she had a child who had poly-cystic kidney disease, and what that illness made it impossible for their family to get health care.

The second thing she said was, "The other reason we're with you is because evangelical Christians are people of deep conviction, and you're a person of deep conviction. I may not agree with you on everything, but what we want more than anything else from our government is that when something happens to our family or something happens to our country -- it's that the people in office have deep conviction."

We are what we believe. And the American people know it.

And I believe that over the next two... four... ten years...

Election by election...

State by state...

Precinct by precinct...

Door by door...

Vote by vote...

We're going to lift our Party up...

And we're going to take this country back for the people who built it.

------------------

:toast:

This speech is so full of truth, passion and common sense, I couldn't pick what my favorite statement was. The entire speech is brilliant.

My how I miss Howard's voice. It's music to my ears whenever I can hear a moment of his truth.

:thumbsup:

there are easily 10 statements there that would have made a more powerful campaign message than the ones used in this election.

:kick:

for those who desire to:

return to the party's progressive roots

to move the nation forward rather than backwards

to bring us all together, rather than divide

and mostly to reform the party...

or someone like him is not the DNC Chair .

He's really the only hope of the party.

Dosn't mean we should run him for president though... He would be much more effective as DNC chair.

Brilliant. If he doesn't become the chairman of the DNC, I say we make DFA the new DNC.

And as this speech shows Dean is very much in touch with the strength and achievements of the Democratic party.

...it may have to happen that way.

But honestly, anyone who has been to the DNC and talked to people that work there knows that it is not as organized, as modern, or as effective as it could be. Fixing it might be more difficult than starting from scratch.

I'd hate to think, actually, of how overwhelmingly mind-numbing it is to encounter on the inside. :-(

Keeps pounding the message! Where in god's name are the rest?!

and not wanting to do or say anything in public that might injure their chances.

After eight years of Bush*...voters will flock to those not afraid to speak their mind and tell the whole truth about the state of the union.

while America's being besieged by fundamentalist gremlins won't get my vote. Next.

Democratic Party may it R.I.P.

I read this speech and remember all the other great ones of the campaign and this man is my President.


"We are what we believe. And the American people know it.
And I believe that over the next two... four... ten years...
Election by election...
State by state...
Precinct by precinct...
Door by door...
Vote by vote...

We're going to lift our Party up...
And we're going to take this country back for the people who built it." - Howard Dean
:toast:

Dean is inspirational! When Dean speaks, reality wins, and that is SO gratifying...

The Sleepless Summer Tour Rally in Bryant Park NYC summer of 03 was a blast. He inspired me to get off the couch - volunteer for a campaign for the first time, write letters to total strangers in Iowa,and donate my hard earned money. New Hampshire in January is REALLY cold. One of my closest friends is an evangelical and he voted for a Democrat for president for the first time this election. He would have liked it even better if that Democrat had been Howard Dean.

"As democracy is perfected, the office of president represents, more and more closely,the inner soul of the people. On some great and glorious day the plain folks of the land will reach their heart's desire at last and the White House will be adorned by a downright moron."
-- H.L. Mencken (1880-1956)

:hi:

Nice one, Howard. As always, blunders overpowers the good stuff.

selling phony war on terror security advice.

the subject of this thread....Go guard his zipper.

and playing on people's fear?

when convenient.

Bah.

RL

*I'M THE VICTIM, DAMMIT! I AM THE VICTIM!*

I would look up "snarky" in the dictionary and there would be your picture. You may want to rething your approach, in PMs even some of your fellow Clarkies have lamented your woeful lack of ability to be reasonable.

Oh and on the subject of losing, yeah, we lost. Sure there was fraud in some hot spots but there were lost of places that went blue that are traditional Rethug strongholds, my city included. Some of us hauled ass only to be seriously disappointed by our ticket's lackluster campaign and failure to at least wait till the vote counting was done to concede to the trained chimp. This should have been a landslide. The fact that it was close enough to steal speaks volumes, at least to those who are able to listen. Stop slapping your ears and screaming "I can't hear you!" and maybe you will get a clue.

Lastly, does it pain you that much that Dean is taking on the mantle of leader for the Dem party while your candidate chooses another path? Your Freudian slip is showing. Again.

Julie

of course Dean comes back to GW and I can't go because it's scheduled at the same time as my final.

I am no fan of the good Doctor, nor do I think he is the future of the party, but we could use some more of his spunk.

;-) They are necessary.

Surely this is being filmed at GWU. You might be able to get a copy.

but a taped speech is nothing if you had the chance to go in person. I saw and met Dean and Kerry when Howard officially endorsed Kerry here last spring.

As for exams...blech, too much too quickly! I can't wait for christmas break

I can't blame you for feeling the way you do about exams. I teach in higher ed, and so I've had to take plenty of those myself.

Nose your way through it, and then have a Merry Christmas!

Now if the party leaders can only get someone to deliver that same populist rhetoric but then do what the big corporate contributors tell them to do once they get in office, they'll get behind him/her. Absent that, forget it.

People here seem to forget who runs the Democratic Party and for what purpose. Let me put it this way, they aren't giving up the throne anytime soon, especially to some upstart who claims he wants to give people a say. Follow the money.

and how he took down Dean, I wonder if the Democratic Party is worth "saving." I'm finding it more believable that the whole Kerry campaign was smoke and mirrors to throw the election to Bush. They're all too comfortable with things the way they are. And we, the citizens, scarcely factor in at all, except as a cast of millions when an "election" is held. Another party is definately needed. I would hope Dean would be up for that, instead of getting sucked into the Democratic Potemkin party.

They want a government that runs big deficits, but is small enough to fit into your bedroom.

They want a government that is of, by, and for their special interest friends.

They want a government that preaches compassion but practices division.

They want wealth rewarded over work.

And they are willing to use any means to get there.

There's an honesty that shines through whether one likes his style or not...he's very REAL! That's refreshing after the hell we've been through...

No more Terry McAuliffe and his ilk. Dean tells it like it is, and like it should be.

Howard Dean is on the money yet again. I still love Wes Clark. But Howard Dean is the one to lead the party through the disaster of milquetoast-mania.

Hopefully, this moderate swing-voter ass-kissing crap will go out just like disco: in a few years, the ones who were knee-deep into it will deny they ever even heard of it.

I can't think of anyone in the democratic party that can ignite passion and excitement like Dean. I agreed with almost every single word in his speech.

The Democratic party would be making a huge mistake if they don't embrace Dean & his message.

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

..for not supporting him in 2000 and for not running him again in 2004 while everyone was still pissed about stolen elections and smirking Bushes. And from reading Dean's speech...it's easy to see why Gore backed him.

Is this what our party has become? Throw the populist or progressive message away in exchange for someone the lobbyists will like and can 'work' with? I hope that Kerry and all other Dem candidates will learn as Gore did and get away from the dlc influence.

It's difficult to tell if Dean could run a successful campaign against the GOP and the DLC. But he seems to have his finger on where the left needs to go to survive in a country in search of a second party.

How refreshing it is to read Dean's powerful words. We have lost too many elections and it is time to take a stand. This spineless approach of worrying about offending the Rethugs has gotten us nowhere. This past election should have been a landslide but no, it was close enough to where some tampering could throw the whole thing to the Rethugs. There are many usually Rethug strongholds that went blue for me to believe the entire country was subject to fraud, that includes my own city. Went blue for the first time ever.

We need someone who will stand for their beliefs, not who will take a stand after listening to lost of focus groups and milquetoast advisors.

I say Go Dean! I'm with you all the way Governor!!

Julie

If Dean doesn't win party chairman, expect more of the same.

If Howard Dean isn't a shoo-in for DNC Chairman, then the DNC are fools.

I still have my Dean baseball cap.
I was disappointed that he didn't win in the primary for 2004.
I like him because he balanced the budget in Vermont.
I think he's really intelligent.
I, too, am against the war. I'm 21. I graduated from college in May. I DO NOT want to be drafted ever.
The other thing I like about Dean is he's been consistent.

socially liberal party. That was the DLC's idea. We need to embrace economic populism again and neutralize the social issues that the Republicans use to drive wedges.

I'm running out the door, no time for a real post, but wanted to get that in. I can count on Dean to keep on fighting.

...to kick this thread.